Silas Soule

Silas Stillman Soule (26 July 1838-23 April 1865) was a Captain of the 1st Colorado Cavalry of the US Army during the American Civil War and the Plains Indian Wars. Soule refused orders to attack peaceful Cheyenne villagres in the 1864 Sand Creek massacre, and John Chivington had him murdered when he testified against Chivington's conduct.

Biography
Silas Stillman Soule was born on 26 July 1838 in Bath, Maine, United States to an abolitionist family, and in 1854 he settled in Kansas with his family. He escorted slaves to freedom in the north and befriended John Brown, and he took part in the Bleeding Kansas events. In 1861, Soule enlisted in the 1st Colorado Infantry at the start of the American Civil War, and he was later promoted to Captain of the D Company of the 1st Colorado Cavalry, serving under John Chivington. In 1864, when Chivington ordered him to attack peaceful Cheyenne villagers as they negotiated with the Americans at Fort Lyon, Soule refused to follow orders and asked his men to respect the white flags flown by the Native Americans. However, Chivington proceeded to massacre the natives, leading to Soule testifying against his former commander, and the US Congress decided to refuse the US Army's request of thousands of troops for a general war against the Plains Nations. On 23 April 1865, 2nd Colorado Cavalry soldier Charles Squier fired several shots at Soule while he was serving as a military police Provost Marshal in Denver, with Squier claiming that the murder was in revenge for Soule testifying against Chivington. Soule's friend Lieutenant John Cannon captured Squier and attepted to make him stand trial, but Squier escaped, being buried as a hero in 1869; Cannon was poisoned.